Upward Bound
On The Social Train!

Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur working from your house or a Fortune 500 company, you simply cannot afford to ignore social media anymore.

==> Studies Show Buying Decisions Are Influenced

Studies show that the majority of consumers today are influenced in one way or another by the posts of their friends.

If a friend recommends a brand, a place, a movie or a restaurant through social media, that person is much more likely to become a customer of that establishment.

On the other hand, if a friend complains about a business through social media, research also shows that consumers are much less likely to buy from that place.

In other words, what people say about you on social media plays a big part in consumers’ buying decisions today.

==> People Are More Willing to Share Links

When social media was first launched, people were cautious of sharing links. Sharing a link on Facebook appeared similar to sharing a link in an email, which seemed almost spam-like. In email, posting too many links is socially discouraged.

Today however, users understand that sharing links on Facebook or Twitter is perfectly acceptable behavior. Users are sharing more and more links today.

That means that if you publish top-notch content or do something innovative, the potential for your content to make its way around the internet is much higher.

==> Networks Influence One Another

The cross-pollination of social media networks is also getting increasingly faster. A post that gets popular on Reddit is rapidly going to get shared on Facebook. Something posted on Facebook will quickly be link shortened and posted on Twitter.

With or without your help, your social network is going to cross-post and cross-pollinate with other social media networks. The reach of good content and good promotions through social media is larger today than it has ever been.

==> Social Sentiment

One hotly debated topic is whether or not search engines can actually read the sentiment inside comments and tweets.

After all, if there are 1,000 tweets about “I Love Brand X,” it shouldn’t have the same impact as 1,000 tweets about “I Hate Brand X.”

The general consensus is that Google can actually read comment sentiment to some degree. Of course it can’t read highly complex comments yet, but by and large Google can distinguish between positive sentiment and negative sentiment.

It’s believed that sentiment plays a large role in rankings – as large as the number of shares itself.

==> Social Influence

The authority of the tweets, mentions, likes, +1′s etc are, of course, a measurement of how powerful each creator is. If they have a lot of followers and a strong brand, a mention or share from them weighs more than if they were a brand new account.

==> Starting to Influence Search Results

Social media is starting to influence search results. Getting exposure in social media is going to help you increase your rankings in the search engines.

All this adds up to one thing: Social Media is getting more and more important by the day. In the past, social media could be just another marketing tactic you dabbled in. Today, however, it needs to be an integral part of any good business strategy.

Social influence is also beginning to be factored into SEO and shares from influencers in your niche can cause your content to perform favorably in the future!

If you haven’t already gotten your foot in the door, start by choosing one network to master. Start with Facebook or Twitter, then move on to bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Reddit. Learn the system, build an audience and get in the habit of regularly posting great content.